Arm wrestling is an ancient individual sport in which persons test their strength and skill against one another. There is evidence of increasing interest in the sport of arm wrestling, and international competitions are held from time to time in various locations within the United States and in Japan and several European countries. A common problem of arm wrestlers and those who would adopt the sport is the lack of suitable equipment and opportunities to practice and to develop their strength and skills.
Exercising machines are well known in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 2,825,563 issued on Mar. 4, 1958 to H. R. Lawton shows an exercising machine for simultaneously exercising the back, leg and arm muscles. This machine employs a pneumatic cylinder and has provisions for varying the amount of effort required to operate the machine. U.S. Pat. No. 3,369,403 issued on Feb. 20, 1968 to E. M. Carlin et. al. shows a hydraulic muscle strength developing apparatus equipped with an operating handle to permit a user to resist movement of a piston caused by the introduction of pressurized hydraulic fluid into the opposite end of a cylinder. U.S. Pat. No. 3,495,824 issued on Feb. 17, 1970 to H. A. Cuinier shows a fluid resistant type exercising device wherein the resistance produced by a fluid flowing through a constriction provides a muscle-opposing force in either of two directions. U.S. Pat. No. 3,822,599 issued on July 9, 1974 to Jerry D. Brentham shows an exercising device comprising a handle pivotally mounted on a frame with a hydraulic system connected to the handle to exert a regulated force restraining movement of the handle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,675 issued on Jan. 22, 1980 to Brent Rogerson shows a mechanical arm wrestler comprising a hydraulic cylinder mounted on a base and crank arm pivotally mounted on the base and connected through a rod to the cylinder. Also known in the art are dead weight devices and spring loaded devices for developing the muscles used in arm wrestling. The present invention provides a novel apparatus that is especially useful for controllably developing the strength and skills required in arm wrestling and for measuring a person's abilities and progress in this regard.